After a couple of weeks away from the column grindstone, it was something of a relief to come back to a relatively balmy Edinburgh compared to the searing heat of the normally breezy Italian Lakes, and like most travellers from the capital for the first time I had a new comparison to make.

The local tourist tax is a barely noticeable €2 a night compared to Edinburgh’s five per cent. Capped at five nights may be, but a £200-a-night room here, hardly the Ritz in August, will come with an extra £50 (€58) charge compared to €14 for a week in Garda. OK, so the wee castle in Malcesine isn’t on the same scale as ours, but the mountains certainly are.

It is too early to say how much of a difference Edinburgh’s “visitor levy” will make, but just days into the festivals and a noticeable impact has been the increased police presence in the city centre. With groups of three or four officers in their chess board baseball hats and hi-viz stab vests it’s as if there’s a royal event at St Giles, although they didn’t keep the High Street clear for Sunday morning’s processions from the City Chambers for the Festival service.

For the £50 million annual revenue the tourist tax is expected to raise by 2028-29, residents are entitled to expect more evidence of the extra revenue than a few more beat cops – I’m told there are still fewer boots on the ground than when the old Edinburgh City force was swallowed by Lothian & Borders in 1975 – but I remain sceptical that the Capital will be able to take full advantage of the new revenue stream as the Scottish Government examines the options for meeting this year’s promise to save £1.5 billion, while councils face a total budget shortfall of about........

© Herald Scotland